Tuesday, July 14, 2009

All Star Break

I have come to realize how much I am reliant on the computer. I can't wait til mine gets fixed.

Regardless, I have some great pictures from my trip to Syracuse over the weekend. I will post them once I have a working PC. Mitre looked absolutely great as he pitched 8 scoreless innings while striking out 5 and giving up only 6 hits. He induced 2 DP's on that sinker of his and would have had 3 had it not been for the 2B making a terrible play.

It is important to note though that while he has had 2 tremendous consecutive outings in the minor leagues, both of these wins have come against the Mets AAA team. They have a very weak farm system and it is evident from the names of the players they have developing in AAA. It will be interesting to see how his stats in the minor leagues translate to major league hitters. I would say I personally would be skeptical and hold out any regards about his pitching until you actually see him make a major league start.

I also see that my boy Roy Halladay has been the topic of many discussions as of late. While I would love be able to see him pitch more (which would happen if he was a Yankee), it kills me to see the Jays team lose a guy that they have depended on for so long. He has kept hope within the organization and I think losing him would be a huge blow for many of the Jays fans. To be frank, I am getting tired of the Yankee mantra of 'lose one game and commit suicide' approach. You cant win every single day and the spoiled approach is becoming tiring for me to read about. As it is they got 3 of the best free agents out there during the off season and now they want another one of the best pitchers in the league on the team. I can see why many people are tired of this organization.

Anyhow, I guess its going to be a wait and see approach type of thing. It will be interesting to see if Halladay does get traded before the deadline and also to see the different players the other team is going to have to give up in order to acquire him. It is going to be painful, that's for sure.

16 comments:

Bruno Von Rottweiler
said...

Christina, thanks for your insightful views on Doc. YOu captured the angst many Jays fans have regarding this issue. The bone I have to pick with Yankee fans is how much is too much. Their payroll is over 200 million dollars, if you add in luxury tax it's close to almost 300 I believe.If they can't win with what they got, then screw Cashman and Co. They spent more than 75 mill more than Boston did and what are the results.

What kills Jays fans is that this guy is our Don Mattingly. when the Yanks didn't make the playoffs for years, he was the guy. Donnie Baseball wasn't traded to a better Jays team to make them even better, did they? If they trade him to the Red Sox OR teh Yanks, the Jays are over with. It would gut the franchise. Yankees fans act like every team is their farm system...not so! If JP trades him to Boston , NYYS or the Rays he would be hounded oout of town! The Red Sox and Yanks are papuers compared to the Rogers Communications that owns the Stadium, the Radio Station they play on, the cable station they play on and the cable provider! And why weaken our team to their benefit!And the Rys? The Rays are papuers period! And they own the Jays like the angels own the Yanks. All in all , it's very sad for Toronto fans in that the team would be decimated in attendance and the like......

Great post. I hope Mitre's stats can translate to a decent job in the majors.

I kinda hope that Halladay stays in Toronto. Of course, the Yankees could use him and I'd personally drive Joba and whoever else to the airport to make a deal, but it would be nice for Toronto if Halladay stayed there.

I've heard that the Angels are the favorites. LOL that's probably the last team that I'd want Halladay go to besides Boston. The Angels own the Yankees.

While I don't think the Yankees get Halladay I do think they make a move and probably for pitching.

They are 46-22 vs everyone else. Clearly, the Yankees are good enough to beat most teams, but they're exposed vs the top teams. If the season ended today, the Yankees would be playing the Angels in the ALDS and probably lose.

I noticed that I mispelled paupers in my post...my bad big time! Anyway, Bleaf I hear ya. I wonder if the cheap ass Rogers will trade Rolen and Scoot ,too? And Rios? That would be too much. what would be left? Wells! That would be ironic, that lazy underachieving chump on a rebuilding team if that team does rebuild. Serves him right to suffer....with the way he plays.

The thing I dont get is that the Jays had no problem signing Vernon Wells that that insane contract. I understand Halladay is going to be expensive to keep, but I wish they would have put some investment into him rather than Wells or Rios.

Christina, Ted Rogers the owner of the Jays was alive at that time. He was willing to invest money into the team. Supposedly, it was the club president at the time, Godfrey, who wanted to resign wells not JP. Now that Ted Rogers is dead, the team is penny pinching. I can't believe how f$%ing shortsighted the Rogers are...this is the greatest Jay ever! He is the face of the franchise. THe Rogers have so much money, what is the problem? No team owns the radio station they play on, the cable station, stadium they play in AND cable provider! Everything is pure profit for them. I heard a caller named tyler who frequentlt calles NYC talk radio and he basically said this: "He was sad." Nuff said...it's like the Yanks trading away Donnie Baseball when they were rebuilding. All I can say is that the Rogers are cutting off their nose to spite their faces! It makes no sense......

Christina, it's kinda happening a little bit now with the young Steins. Hal is a money guy, pure and simple. They are spendimg X amount of dollars BECAUSE they are making well in excess of 600 mill with the new stadium. If George was around, they would take Halladay, Wells and give them Joba, Hughes,Montero, Coke, Melancon, Ajax and everything else in sight! Hal is still spending money BUT they realize that a profit is involved.

I grew up during the time of the Bronx Zoo. You could basically buy a championship back then (George had a great GM called Gene Paul who put everything together)BUT not now. That Yankees Dynasty in the 90s came about because George was thrown out of baseball. That allowed Stick and Bob Watson to develop kids like Mo, Jeter and Posada. If George was around, they would have been traded for sure! Cashman is building from within to a certain degree like the other teams, BUT he stills spends like George is in charge. If the Yanks want to repeat something like the 90s, they need to stop signing every free agent and build a team for a change. Cashman's 200 million payroll hasn't worked in the Twenty Os and I think that just buying people like Bay or Holliday in the future will change that .......

Bruno- You're completely right. Instead of trading away all their talent, they need to evaluate what they have and stick with them. Austin Jackson looks like a guy that has the potential to be great at the major league level. can you imagine if they traded away guys like Jeter and Rivera when they were in their prime?

The problem is that the Yankees play for today and not for tomorrow, for the most part anyhow. I think with Joba they did somewhat move away from that mantra. Signing Halladay and getting rid of a crap load of prosects is drifting back to their olds ways, which hasnt gotten them very far.

Vernon's contract was market value at the time. I'm going to have a post up about that in the coming days.

The clusterfuck that is the Blue Jays today is not J.P.'s fault. Ownership is waffling. They don't know if they're willing to spend, or if they want to tear the whole thing down and rebuild. While they decide, J.P. and the rest of the gang wait in limbo.

If we get what we're asking for in terms of trading Doc, do it. If he's not willing to re-sign, and it's cool if he's not, b/c I want nothing more than for him to win, then we have to trade him. Letting him walk away for two draft picks isn't an option. On an aside, it makes me sick to my stomach that a douchebag like Burnett will likely go to the post-season, while Doc will be watching on the tube in October, once again.

Bottom line: Doc deserves to play in October, J.P. isn't the devil he's made out to be, and Vernon Wells will deliver. One day.

Eye- Thanks for the comment. I was curious to see how fans in Toronto feel about the whole Halladay situation. I have a friend in Toronto who was thrilled when Vernon signed that contract and he even commented that he liked the way it was structured because he was making very little in the beginning and it gave them more options or something to spend early on. It obviously is looking like a flop now as he has yet to perform like he has shown he cna in the past. Not saying there isnt a chance for him to prove hes worth the money, but he needs to start showing it soon

As for Halladay, I think its too bad they have no shot at resigning him. I guess thats what happens through when you are in competition with teams that will spend 200+ million on their team; there just is very little competition. If theres no chance of keeping Roy, then you have to trade him at some point. Like you said, getting 2 draft picks just isnt worth it. So would you rather seeing him go this year, of JP waiting till next year to trade him away? At what point does he have the highest market value? I guess I would probably say this year.

Regardless, if he leaves, which I guess is evident at some point, I will be disappointed. I love seeing him play in toronto but I guess it is what it is. Hopefully the young starters they have in their system can start staying healthy or they are never going to get anywhere with that team.

Bleaf, I disagree completetly about Ricciardi. Fact: he is the only GM besides Ed Wade who has helmed a team for more than 7 years AND not made the playoffs! I mean c'mon now 'bleaf. He had a chance to make the team in his image. Not everything is his fault BUT I'm sick and tired of his BS and stating that it is hard to get free agents to come to the Jays...enough already! The Jays need a GM who will get things done, not use the word scuffle and change the culture to a winning one.And it seems that the end to JP's reign will be a rebuilding team WHICH should be in the hands of another GM not him.

Bruno: J.P.'s by no means the best GM out there. I agree, he's been here for a while now, and we haven't seen the results we want (playoffs!!1). But I just don't think he's the monster, either. In all of baseball, only 8 teams make the playoffs. Does that mean all 22 GMs of the other teams are failures? I don't think so. Using that logic, only one GM wins every year. Are all the other 29 failures? In the AL East, up against monster payrolls, the task is even more monumental. The first few years of J.P.'s tenure was to break it all down, and start over. So, yes, he's been here 7 years, but clearly some of those years were known to be unproductive, uncompetitive years.

Christina pointed out that Wells' contract was back-loaded. That would mean a plan was in place, to spend, in 2009 and 2010, while Doc was here. They spent to their highest amount ever in 2008, $100 million, and again the team faltered. The manager was fired, there was speculation about J.P., etc. They finished with a decent record, considering the hitting through the first half was abysmal, but I think management believed a playoff spot was imminent. It didn't happen, and they slashed payroll in 2009, which would go against the reason to back-end Vernon's deal. We keep Vernon for cheap in 2009 and 2010, and spend to create a solid team around him and Doc. Instead, the Jays let A.J. walk instead of giving him the money. And look at A.J. now, he's solid, again. It looks like he may actually fucking get it now. And all praise to Doc, for that, of course.

I think ownership waffling really has messed with this team.

Christina, I liked and supported the Wells contract as well. I figured he was a goner, 100%. I was very pleasantly surprised when he re-signed. It felt like a coup, to keep our own free agent. This is the reality in Toronto. We paid a premium, but we made it happen. Vernon stayed.

As for Doc, I think his value is highest right now, this summer, before the deadline. He won't be a rental. Whoever acquires him knows they have him for, at the very least, one more year. For one winter and one season, they'll also have complete negotiating rights with him. That's got to be huge. That's also got to drive up the asking price.

J.P. is hopefully asking for the moon. If he gets it, he's got to pull the trigger. If Doc isn't traded this summer, offer him a contract in the winter. If he doesn't re-up, then it's time to shop him hard before the season starts. I don't think a trade next year, during the season, will get us anything near fair value. It's a dangerous situation. A lot is riding on it.

Eye- Is it true the Jays are at a deficit of almost 8 billion dollars? If this really is going to be a rebuilding period for the Jays, then it appears Halladay is going to be heading out. I would assume though that it would have to be done across the board, and not solely with him leaving, right?

I wonder how the Jays fans are going to handle losing Halladay? Going through a rebuilding period is never easy, but maybe it is something they need to do; that or get out of the AL east.

It is going to be a crazy few weeks that is for sure. I think this is a huge test for Riccardi and the Toronto Blue Jays organiazation.

About Me

I'm 24, living in upstate NY and baseball is pretty much my life(along with teaching kids). Many ask about the name of the blog-I enjoyed watching Leiter pitch back in the day. Also, the knowledge he has about the game of baseball is quite vast which is why he brings a lot to the booth in broadcasting. I love hearing stories about the game of baseball, especially from those who were able to witness so many fascinating things back in the day. I love going to Tampa for ST; its been a yearly tradition since 2004. I may be a loser and go to major league and minor league games by myself, but I am content with that and have a ball talking with fans from all over! My favorite players are Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay. Email: christina1014nyy@yahoo.com